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Concern from experts should prompt time-out on fracking

By Dr. James Danforth

Posted:
05/26/2014 07:46:33 PM MDT

I would like to share with you why I will vote for a two-year moratorium on fracking in Loveland. As a physician, I am concerned about the lack of adequate studies to evaluate the health risks of this heavy industry near our homes and schools.

As I was used to doing in primary care when faced with a problem not familiar to me, I researched the issue and sought the advice of experts. That included oil and gas engineers, attending presentations by Anadarko and Loveland Energy Action Project, contact experts in toxicology, pulmonary medicine and environmental and public health. I would like to share with you what is known and frankly unknown about the health concerns of fracking to humans and especially children.

Unconventional horizontal slick water hydraulic fracturing for the production of natural gas (UNGD), now referred to as fracking, was first developed, according to an article in "Foreign Affairs" magazine,' in 1997 by George Mitchell in the Barnett shale of Texas. It requires far more water, sand and chemicals than vertical fracking. So we have roughly 17 years of experience with it, not 60 years as some claim.

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We know that some chemicals used are carcinogenic and can have adverse effects on the human hormonal system. We know that UNGD is now the major contributor of volatile organic compounds that are precursors to ozone in our area. Ozone is a toxic irritant to our lungs, especially to small children and those with asthma and adults with COPD. When levels are elevated, school absences and visits to the emergency room increase, as well as premature death. Asthma cost the US about $56 billion in 2007, according to the Centers for Disease Control. The American Lung Association has ranked Larimer County as one of the worst in the country for ozone levels. Even with Colorado's new, more-stringent regulations, the Regional Air Quality Council estimates ozone levels in 2018 will likely exceed new EPA mandated levels.

I contacted Dr. Chris Urbina, then chief medical officer for the Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment, in July 2013. He agreed that there were no definitive health studies to determine the safety of UNGD, and more information was needed. I talked with Kent Kuster, who was serving as the CDPHE liaison to the Colorado Oil and Gas Conservation Commission, in October 2013. He echoed Dr. Urbina's remarks.

I contacted John Adgate, chairman of the Colorado School of Public Health, concerning a study he released Feb. 24, 2014, "Potential Public Health Hazards, Exposures and Health Effects from Unconventional Natural Gas Development." He stated there were was enough evidence from this study to warrant further research. He stated that "anybody who says they know that unconventional natural gas extraction is safe for humans has not really looked into it."

Jeff Colett, dean of CSU's Department of Atmospheric Science, is attempting to determine more information on health concerns and what are safe setbacks from UNGD. His study will be completed in 2015. The EPA is studying risks to drinking water and will be available in 2015.

Experts have told me that the amount of natural gas under Loveland is likely to be a tiny fraction of what the Niobrara formation holds. We will not be inundated with drilling as our neighbor Greeley has. Unfortunately, the ozone and toxins produced there wash over us daily.

I believe there is enough expert concern to warrant a temporary delay in UNGD in our community. Though not yet implemented or tested, we are fortunate to have some of the best regulations in the country on this industry. We have them because citizens like you demanded them.

For an excellent summary of the health concerns for Loveland's most-vulnerable citizens, our children, simply search for "Jerome Paulson, M.D.," on YouTube, for "Potential Health Impacts of Natural Gas Extraction." He is a professor of pediatrics and environmental health at the Mid-Atlantic Center for Children's Health and Environment.